THE ARTIST IS PRESENT - MUSEUM OBSERVATION*

Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present is the first performance art show held at the Museum of Modern Art and it is going on now, until May 31st. After studying various art forms for years, I feel that I can usually understand what I see, even if I have to read the artist statement. She uses naked bodies, her own body, interactive performance and re-enacting previous performances. This I get and I appreciate her innovation. I was surprised to hear she has been doing her work since the 1950's. She is also known for pushing boundaries and peoples' comfort zones. I had to walk around a few times and I still did not get the appeal of her content. Perhaps because it challenged my comfort zone, rather than giving me an enjoyable experience.

There were naked women in the show. One was attached to the middle of a wall, half way to the ceiling. There were two in doorways where you could choose to walk through them. There were people with clothes on. Two were facing each other, pointing, almost, but not touching pointer fingers. On the other side of the wall behind them, there were two people, also with clothes on, sitting back to back with their hair tied together. This all seemed to be communicating something about human relationships and, possibly, sexuality.

There was a room where there was a woman massaging her breasts on video along with a few other video screens that I did not fully understand. This was behind a wall that displayed Abromavic with a pile of animal bones, some depictions of them are clean and some are bloody. There was photography and video throughout the exhibition.

After I walked through it, without being moved by much and not understanding much, I went to read a book about her work to gain more insight. What stood out for me is that the Balkans have a very different view of sexuality than most cultures and that is where she is from. "For example, if it rained too much, the women of the village would run into the field and lift their skirts in an attempt to scare gods and end the rain" as it says in the description to a previous show - http://www.likeyou.com/en/node/2923. I keep thinking I remember it wrong, but that book I read at the MoMA said that if an animal was sick a man would rub his penis and then rub the animal for good luck... or something like that. Are these traditions the inspiration for pushing people's comfort zones in regards to sexuality?

I guess she was a pioneer of shock art, since she's been doing this since the 1950's. I guess her work challenges peoples' notions of sexuality. I guess it's just not my favorite art, but I can definitely respect all her accomplishments.

The one part of her show that was separate from the rest, her latest work, The Artist is Present. The other live people are representing her past work, in which she was the live person in the performance (sometimes her husband). For this new piece, she sits in an open space in the MoMA in a chair facing an empty chair at a table. There is not much else there for visual stimulation. Her dress is simple and the table and chairs are plain wood. The space around her is closed off, but people are allowed to sit opposite her in the empty chair and interact with her. She sits quietly and stares and everyone who goes to sit opposite her mirrors her tableau. It's interesting to see the artist actually present and interacting with their audience regardless of how it's done. I guess she is a living still life that can be interacted with by individual viewers.

I guess I can say that her work is interesting.